After a sudden turn of events, Harry and Hermione now must complete their sixth year of Hogwarts in 1976. As Harry witnesses his dad trying to coerce his mum to go on a date with him, Harry also battles new yet growing feelings for Hermione. Just when everything falls into place, a shocking turn of events tests the grounds of friendship and romance involving Harry and Hermione.

Author's Note: Hello everyone! Well…we've finally come to the end of this story that I started back in October of 2015. Definitely a lot of mixed feelings have started to come into play but I just wanted to say one more time, a definite "thank you" to everyone that has read and/or reviewed on this story…it truly means a lot! I know some people have given up on this story halfway through or others that have been disappointing in the direction the story has gone from its inception; to those people, I say, write a Harry/Hermione story of your own then! I'm always looking for stories pairing the two of them together. Bash my story all you want but remember it was your own time spent reading it and not mine! If you felt like you wasted your time reading this, that's not my problem; go write your own story.Anyway, with that being said, there will be no sequel to this story; this is it! I would also like to give five shout-outs to people that have read and reviewed my story for some time now: happylady, Saki-Hime, BeyondtheSea16, starboy454, and Selkura; I don't know if you guys are still reading but if you are, you five have been with me for a long while now so thank you very much! And I now present to you the final installment of "Harry Potter and a Marauder Revival!"

Chapter 34: Cessation

"What was the point of Dumbledore keeping all of this from us," James asked, looking at Harry and Hermione, his face twisted in a mask of deep confusion. "I mean, would it really have been that bad for him to tell us at least half of this information we have just witnessed through his memories?"

"I don't know James but it's clear that returning to Hogwarts now is imminent," Harry responded, his mind still trying to wrap everything together with a nice bow; unfortunately for Harry, everything still felt scattered around him in thousands of tiny pieces.

"Well, if you look at it on the bright side, he is still alive; we can still ask him about all of this in the end," Hermione suggested.

"Perhaps," Harry replied, "Although, I have a feeling how all of 'this' ends, it won't be easy by any means."

As silence ensued between the three Gryffindors, a light snow had begun to fall around the shack they were still presiding in. The air was cold and frigid as the temperature kept descending into lower and lower levels of coldness.

"So this is it then, isn't it," James asked at random, "Since Harry just said that we have to return to Hogwarts."

"It's the only way to end all of this," Harry said, looking over at his father, "It's the only way to end this whole charade."

"I trust in you, Harry, I want you to know that," James said quietly to his son, "I always did. I know this sounds odd coming from your sixteen-year-old father but I love you; you are everything that I had ever hoped for in a son."

James' eyes began to glisten behind the lenses of his glasses as unshed tears threatened to cascade down his rosy cheeks. He stood to his feet as Harry followed suit; the two stood there for a quick moment, as hazel eyes met green eyes.

James put out his hand for Harry to shake; Harry looked at lit, smiled slightly, and then wrapped his arms around his young father. The two embraced, each wearing ridiculous smiles; Hermione wiped away a rogue tear; a tear shed from happiness that Harry had finally felt love from at least one of his parents in a physical form.

As they broke apart, James looked over at Hermione and smiled; he nodded for her to join him as she stood to her feet; James hugged her tightly when she did so. No words were spoken between the two of them yet all meaning was conveyed through their actions.

Hermione sniffled as she felt James' arms slacken from around her but not a second later, Harry pulled her to his side.

"Well then, I think we should get to Hogwarts then," James suggested.

"One moment," Harry replied as he bent down on the ground. He carefully placed both Dumbledore and Slughorn's memories back in their respective flasks as he pointed his wand at the pensive and said, "REDUCIO." The pensive shrank down into a miniature form as he stuffed all three in an inside pocket of his jacket.

"Wait, Harry, you don't think the Ministry will follow us since we are still underage and we have the trace on us," Hermione asked in trepidation.

Harry shrugged as he replied, "Well, technically, we are going back to where we're supposed to be so I don't see any problem in apparating; it'll be fine because I'm sure the High Council wants us at Hogwarts anyway."

Hermione nodded her head though she still looked skeptical; the three grabbed each other's hands as Hermione apparated them out of the shack.

Miles away, the cold waters of the ocean slammed against a towering structure that jutted straight into the sky. The salt-water mist rose up in waves, circling this obtusely-shaped construction: Azkaban Prison.

Albus Dumbledore apparated on a platform just outside the entrance into the prison, flanked by three dementors, the guards of the penitentiary; Dumbledore, as powerful as he was, walked right up to the dementors, no trace of fright anywhere upon his aged face.

He turned over his wand to one of the three dementors; its slimy and scaled, gray hand took hold of his wand, examining it in its own mind. After a while, the dementor handed the wand back to Dumbledore and allowed him passage.

The famed wizard strode into the darkness of the passageway and into the depths of the prison.

Hollow cries were heard from fellow prisoners as the darkness outside the jail seemed to press itself against its outer walls, confining any inmate into an eternal depravity.

Walking along the cold, wet stone floor, Dumbledore ventured down a long flight of stairs. A creaking was heard as a powerful wave crashed against the outer stone walls as a high-pitched scream was heard overhead.

Holding his wand in his hand, the wizard gave his wrist a little flick and his wand emitted a strong, white glow, giving him a source of light.

As he continued down the flight of stairs, Dumbledore noticed the staircase was positioned against the walls of the prison as it circled downwards; in the middle was nothingness; it was simply a vast, empty space of blackness.

Entering upon a landing, Dumbledore extinguished his wand silently as he looked past the bars of each prison cell, looking for two people who knew to be wrongly imprisoned.

Finally, he found the two people he was looking for in two separate cells next to each other: Horace Slughorn and Charlie Weasley.

"Horace, Horace, it's me," Dumbledore said quietly.

The Potions master turned his hollow face over to Dumbledore as shock emitted across his deflated face as he said, "Albus? What on earth are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you of course," Dumbledore replied with a hint of humor in his voice.

"How did you know I was here?"

"My old friend, the Daily Prophet has been abuzz ever since the events of what happened in Romania; I believe they are calling it the 'Romanian Raid.' Quite a foolish little name if you ask me but who am I to judge based on headlines," Dumbledore chuckled, "Stand back."

Dumbledore pointed his wand at the lock on Slughorn's prison cell; a line of green stars shot out at the padlock as it burst open, setting Slughorn free.

Dumbledore took a quick look at his old friend and commented, "Horace, I am afraid Azkaban was no friend to you."

Slughorn looked down and saw that his usually over-large stomach was non-existent. "What can I say, Albus?"

Dumbledore took note of the dirt and grime Charlie had plastered across his facial features; he also noticed how skinny the second-oldest Weasley looked.

"Stand back, Mr. Weasley, I am going to unlock your cell," Dumbledore said. As Charlie backed away, Dumbledore pointed his wand as another line of green sparks broke open the padlock that was barring Charlie inside his cell.

"Hold tight you two," Dumbledore warned as Charlie stepped outside and into freedom, "I am going to apparate us out of here and back to Hogwarts. Harry is there and I feel I need to help him."

"It appears so, Horace, for else, what other need would he have to return to Hogwarts?"

"How is it you know that Harry has returned," Slughorn asked.

"I pulled a few strings at the Ministry; I had an inside informant take the tracker off of Harry and Miss Granger as the trace was redirected to me," Dumbledore answered.

"I thought it was impossible to break the trace," Charlie asked.

"And you are right, Mr. Weasley, for it hasn't been broken, just transferred," the headmaster explained.

"And how was it you were able to do this," Slughorn asked again.

"Because, Horace, after being offered the position of the Minister of Magic on three separate occasions, I see use to, forgive me, use undue influence on matters that are to affect the entire Wizarding world. Now grab hold of my arm tightly."

As the both did so, Charlie turned and asked, "Professor, how is Hermione doing? I haven't seen her in a long while?"

Slughorn gave Dumbledore a strange look as the latter responded, "The time is getting near." And with that, the three apparated from Azkaban Prison, leaving behind the place of madness.

When Harry, Hermione, and James found themselves in front of the gates of Hogwarts, they were greeted by two Ministry officials.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, and the missing mystery student, how nice of you all to finally join us," one of the men said, waving his wand at the gates in a form of salute. A black mist floated away from the iron and into the cold night as the gates opened for the trio.

"Mr. Dalton has been anxiously awaiting your arrival," the man continued, as he and his fellow comrade escorted Harry, Hermione, and James into the castle.

"I'm sure he has," James muttered.

"What's that boy?"

"What? Oh, um, nothing," James answered as Hermione gave him a sly smile and an arched eyebrow to which he silently chuckled.

Inside Hogwarts they walked as an eerie silence descended around the party of five; their shoes clacked loudly against the stone floor as they made their way down a long corridor, up two flights of stairs, and down another long corridor.

They knocked loudly upon a door in which a young man opened it. He looked down at the three Gryffindors as the two Ministry officials clasped their right hands over their hearts in salute.

The three did as they were told yet to Harry, everything about this man felt wrong. To Harry, it seemed as if he, James, and Hermione had walked into a meeting to discuss their own death certificates.

The man took a seat opposite of them behind his own desk; he clasped his hands together pleasantly, smiled, and said, "My name is Brice Dalton and I am the head of the Federal Presidium of the Hogwarts High Council. I welcome the three of you back after a quite extended and unexpected leave of absence!"

Harry, James, and Hermione looked over at Brice with a silent and cold fury in their eyes. Harry noticed that Brice also had a certain degree of frostiness in his bright blue eyes as well.

"I am afraid to inform you that while I would rather have you all in the comfort of your beds in Gryffindor Tower, there are business matters that must first be discussed before I dismiss you."

"And what matters would that be," Harry asked.

Brice smiled cruelly at him as he responded, "The case of the Resurrection Stone, Mr. Potter. I know it is in your possession and I would like for you to hand it over to me or else I will have to take it by force."

"What do you need to do with it," Harry asked again.

"The matters I have with that stone are personal matters in which you should not be bothered by," he replied in a quiet voice.

"If you are threatening to take the stone by force, Mr. Dalton, I'm afraid why you need the stone is something I am to be bothered by," Harry replied.

Dalton stared at Harry for a long moment before he stood to his feet and said, "Follow me."

Dalton marched out of his office with the trio following behind him wearily. Harry considered disarming Dalton but that was before the two ministry officials followed close behind them with their wands drawn.

The party of six walked down to the second-floor girl's bathroom. As they stood in front of the circular display of sinks, Dalton turned to Harry and said, "Open it."

It was a command, not a request, as Harry found no other choice but to comply with his demand. Harry opened his mouth and spoke parstletongue. As soon as the snake hisses started issuing from Harry's throat, the Chamber of Secrets was being opened again.

They all stood and watched the opening as all were silent as this was progressing. When the entrance had revealed itself in its fullest form, Dalton turned again to the trio and said, "In you go."

Outside the gates of Hogwarts, Dumbledore suddenly appeared with Slughorn and Charlie right beside him.

"It seems as if Harry, Miss Granger, and James have already come back here," Dumbledore said, noticing the gates of the school.

"Albus, what exactly are you planning," Slughorn asked, his eyes hinting impatience.

"Horace, my dear friend, I am not planning anything; as I've told you before already, everything will depend on the choices of Harry and Miss Granger; the entire situation is completely out of my hands."

"Are you going to try to influence the situation one way or another," Slughorn asked back.

"No, I am not; Harry and Miss Granger will decide what to do," the headmaster replied as the three of them stepped through the gates, "And we can only hope they make the right decision."

Back down in the depths of the chamber, the party of six made their way into the main hall of the ancient cavity; Dalton's eyes traveled up the length of the stone statue of Salazar Slytherin in awe.

On they walked, passing the stone busts of the heads of snakes, all the way up to the edge of the platform as close to the statue as they could get; Harry looked around and noticed the quiet waters surrounding the platform.

"Why did you bring us down here," James asked, looking around and noticing a dark patch mark of blood; he thought about the last time he was down here and how bad Malfoy was bleeding.

Dalton turned to face them and replied, "Because, Mr. Potter, this is where everything ends and new beginnings start to take place. You see, I am going to murder the three of you tonight, very soon in fact, and I will leave your mangled bodies for my young snakes to feed off of."

Hermione gasped audibly as she cringed into Harry's side; he wrapped an arm protectively around her as James stared at him with hatred.

"Why do you gain by killing us," James asked with venom.

"Well, first, since young Harry over here refuses to give me the Resurrection Stone, I can get my hands on that. Second, I can finally make good use of the Time Vortex Resurgence so that the Dark Lord can take full control of the wizarding world once and for all. It seems appropriate that I do this down in the depths of Slytherin's hidden chamber."

"And how will you get him to do that," Harry asked angrily.

Dalton looked over at Harry as if he lost his mind. "You foolish boy, do you not understand the full implications of the Resurrection Stone?"

Harry looked over at James and Hermione only to see masks of confusion on their faces as well.

Dalton sneered as he said, "Well, let me enlighten you on that matter. The Resurrection Stone not only brings back the dead; when used properly, it can also send one back in time. This powerful artifact was crafted by Death himself, some ages ago. It was discovered, in this past century, that the power to send one back in time rests within the stone itself.

"I think you know that the High Council was the one who created the Time Vortex Resurgence and we infused our creation into the stone, before it was taken away from us."

"Who took it from you," Harry asked.

"The Dark Lord, he's the one that took it. You see, the High Council was set up long ago; it was set up five years after Hogwarts had officially opened its doors, actually. The Ministry wished to enact the High Council over Hogwarts but it never came to be as the current headmaster or headmistress strictly was against the ruling of having a higher-powered body presiding over the school.

"When the Dark Lord was at school, he found out about the High Council. After his graduation, he disappeared…some say he left for the forests of Albania…some say he went elsewhere…however, the Dark Lord returned. At that time, the High Council turned in favor of his new government he proposed…a government that would not fear Muggles…a government that would not fear the ideals of blood purity…a government that would not fear to rule by force. It was this time that he entrusted upon us a very ancient ring or as it is known now: the Resurrection Stone.

"The High Council then created the Time Vortex Resurgence as we infused its power into the ring itself. The Dark Lord came by and collected the artifact and hid it; he told the head of the High Council at that time, Mark Young; his son, Jake, was stationed at the Romania Reserve after I found out Dumbledore had sent the ring there."

"If Voldemort told you to retrieve the ring after his downfall, why hadn't you when he disappeared in 1981," Harry asked.

"You dare speak the Dark Lord's name with your unworthy tongue, you filthy half-blood," Dalton asked as his eyes pierced like a dagger through Harry. "The High Council was disbanded at that time as the Dark Lord's followers dispersed and conspired against one another in which, at that time, it wasn't safe to retrieve the ring."

"So you plan to use the Resurrection Stone to go back in time," Hermione asked.

"Precisely, Miss Granger; I will go back to the 1970s; in doing so, another world will be created in which the Dark Lord will fuse both worlds together and he will take control over."

"You can't have both worlds co-existing as one," Hermione said, "The bounds of time and logic will be broken."

"If you had any notion to listen, Miss Granger, I said nothing of two worlds co-existing; I said the Dark Lord will combine the two worlds."

"And what will happen to the world that has already been created when we were sent back in time," Harry asked.

"It will be destroyed," Dalton replied simply. "Don't you see: Dumbledore used the Resurrection Stone against you Mr. Potter and Miss Granger; he sent you back in time."

"Oh, is that right; I'd like to see how three underage wizards are going to stop me," Dalton taunted.

"Even if your plan does work," Hermione inserted, "How can you risk fusing the two worlds together? In both worlds, everyone has an identical to his or herself yet with two distinct personalities; mixing the two personalities together is something that is impossible to do."

Dalton held out his hand towards Harry for him to give the stone over. Was this it? Was this the decision he was going to have to make in which would determine the future?

Suddenly, the two Ministry officials slumped down to the ground. Dalton swiftly took out his wand as Harry, James, and Hermione turned to look behind them.

At the other end of the platform, the hooded assailant stood: one by the name of Sirius Black.

"Sirius," James whispered, taking out his own wand.

The black hood was removed and a young Sirius Black was revealed, his long hair flowing down his back and his face young and youthful.

"How are you, my dear old friend," Sirius called over at James as he walked closer and closer to him, "It has been a long time; too long I'm afraid."

"And what do you plan to do," James asked him, noticing his brandished wand, "Why did you attack us in the Great Hall?"

"Because this parallel world that was created is not supposed to exist; we are here in a violation against the laws of the order," Sirius said.

"And how is it you know of this," James asked.

Sirius smiled nastily as he said, "I've been following Dumbledore around. I mean, what else could I do after I awoke in the dungeons of Hogwarts? That's where I have been all along."

"Enough of this foolishness," Dalton spat out from behind them, "Potter, give me the stone!"

Before Harry could reply, he heard Sirius saying, "I'm going to end the two of us, James, and nothing you can do can stop me."

In the next second, a flurry of curses flew out of every wand in the vicinity: James and Sirius shot hexes at one another while Dalton, Harry, and Hermione shot off jets of light at each other as well.

The chamber was soon filled with cries of flung curses along with different colors of jets of light which flung into the air.

As James and Sirius battled away, Harry and Hermione kept yelling "PROTEGO" over and over for Dalton was flinging curse after curse at them in rapid speed.

Finding a swift opening, Harry yelled, "STUPEFY!" The jet of red light flew over Dalton's shoulder and into the statue of Slytherin.

"AVADA KEDAVRA," Dalton yelled; a jet of green light flew over towards Hermione; she dived out of the way.

"INCARCEROUS," Harry yelled.

Thick ropes flew out of the tip of his wand but Dalton had already yelled, "PROTEGO!" He suddenly stopped however as he looked down on the wet floor of the chamber.

Harry heard a hurried sound at his feet; he too looked down and saw to his horror, the floor was moving.

Upon taking a closer look, Harry noticed the floor was slithering with a mass movement of baby snakes. Hermione screamed loudly as she stood hurriedly to her feet. However, once she noticed Dalton's state, she pointed her wand and said, "STUPEFY!"

A jet of red light flew over at Dalton and hit him full in the face. He was flung violently over backward; Harry and Hermione heard his skull crack against the stone surface.

The baby snakes however, understood that their dinner was served for they slithered their way over to Dalton's lifeless body and started picking away at his skin, ripping his flesh off of his bones.

Harry and Hermione turned away, disgusted by the sight that had befallen before them. However, when they turned around, they saw James was lying on the wet floor of the chamber, a pool of blood beginning to emit from an open wound on his stomach.

Harry and Hermione looked up and saw Sirius staring at them with malice as Harry and Hermione stared back in equal fervor.

"Your turn," Sirius whispered.

However, before he could shoot a curse over at them, Hermione pointed her wand at him and yelled, "AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A jet of green light flew out of Hermione's wand and hit Sirius in the chest; he slumped over onto the floor, dead.

Harry looked over at Hermione in horror. She had just used the Killing Curse, one of the Unforgivable Curses…something Hermione was unlikely to ever do.

Harry could only draw one conclusion: this Hermione was from a parallel world. As his heart rate quickened, Hermione turned to face Harry.

"Hermione," he asked in disbelief. He saw that she was raising her wand; Harry, shocked by this new revelation, said, "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS." Hermione's arms and legs snapped together as she fell backward; however, before she crashed onto the stone floor, Harry caught her in mid-fall and laid her down gently.

Harry looked back over towards Dalton and saw the baby snakes were still picking away at his flesh; he could on wonder what would happen when Dalton would wake up.

A pounding of footsteps alerted Harry as his gaze fell upon Dumbledore: the wizard with all of the secrets.

"Professor," Harry breathed, not thinking of anything else to say.

Dumbledore did a quick survey of the scene that lay around his feet; as his eyes fell upon Hermione, he said, "I thought she might be."

"You knew of this," Harry asked, anger seeping into his voice as he pointed down at Hermione.

"I had my concerns," the headmaster replied.

"Since when," Harry asked again.

"From your time in the forest," Dumbledore replied, "I was there, Harry, and I heard her voice as well as the voice of James. It was then that I had thought Miss Granger might not be the one we all know of."

"How do we fix this? How does this end? How do I get Hermione back," Harry cried out in frustration, looking around at the bodies lying on the floor of the chamber, panic rising through him.

"Harry, you first need to calm down and take deep, slow breaths," Dumbledore instructed. As Harry did so, Dumbledore watched him intently.

After he had finished, Dumbledore said, "I need the stone now, Harry and you're going to have to make a decision on what to do."

Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the Resurrection Stone and placed it in the palm of the headmaster's hand.

"Okay, Harry, now follow my instructions very, very carefully. You are going to have two options from what to do which will change the course of the future. Your first option is to destroy the stone: in doing so, you will eliminate any chance of the High Council of ever going back in time to use this stone to give Voldemort his rise to power to take control of the Ministry. But, if you destroy the stone, this world in which we are a part of at this present moment will become our new reality."

"Can't you just hide the stone," Harry asked.

At this, Dumbledore suddenly looked downcast as he replied, "I'm afraid that Voldemort will call for it and it will respond to him."

"Is that because this stone is a horcrux," Harry asked.

"No because Professor Snape and I destroyed the horcrux that was contained inside. You see, Voldemort placed a powerful charm upon this stone in which he can call for it when he wishes to do so," Dumbledore replied.

"Why hasn't he called for it then," Harry asked.

"Because he did not know it had fallen into the hands of his enemies. You see, Voldemort's followers never called for him unless they were given specific orders to do so, Harry. If they called him and told him the stone was stolen, he likely would have murdered the person or people that called him."

Harry looked around in disbelief again as he asked, "And what is my second option?"

"This option is a lot graver and quite risky Harry: your second option is to cast a specific spell upon the stone in which it will send you back in time in which you had to make definitive and important decision."

"And which time will that be, professor?"

"I do not know which is why this is a very risky option to take. It also leaves open the opportunity for which the High Council could take over the school again. But I'm afraid, Harry, you must choose one or the other."

"What happens if I don't choose? So far, these two worlds have co-existed with one another," Harry remarked.

"Have they," Dumbledore asked, looked around at the strewn bodies, "Because it seems to me these two worlds have come into conflict with one another quite distinctly."

Down deep in his heart, Harry knew Dumbledore was right: he had to make a choice. Nodding his head as if to remind himself he was making the right one, Harry said, "What's the spell to send me back in time?"

"Are you sure this is what you want, Harry? Remember that you cannot go back and choose otherwise."

"I'm positive," Harry replied, looking over at Hermione.

"I should give you another fair warning then: you may not be the same person as you are now. The stone may alter your past in very finite ways that could impact life as you seem to know it," Dumbledore said.

"What does that mean? Is there a possibility that James and Lily might not be my parents?"

"Oh no, the stone has no power to alter blood, Harry; it does however have the power to alter certain traits about a person. The details of which I am unsure of, as you are the first person to ever attempt such a thing."

"I still choose to do so, anyway," replied Harry, "It seems like the best option of the two."

Dumbledore nodded silently as he said, "Point your wand at the stone Harry and say, very clearly, 'INITIUM.'"

Harry pointed his wand at the stone; however, before he could say anything, Dumbledore whispered quietly to him, "Remember who you truly, are Harry, for all of our sakes."

"INITIUM," Harry muttered, taking one final look at both James and Hermione. A blinding white light suddenly emitted from the stone as it rose into the air; the light surrounded Harry, casting him in an eternal glow.

Harry could not see anything, not even Dumbledore who he had assumed was mere feet away. The stone rose higher and higher into the white light as Harry's green eyes follow its ascent.

A powerful whoosh filled Harry's ears as he felt like he was being knocked backward. He could hear voices around him yet they were too faint to hear clearly. His vision was becoming sharper and more focused though as he still had the feeling of falling backwards.

Wondering if this queer sensation would ever end, a mixture of voices suddenly flooded Harry's ears; blinking rapidly, he saw four faces looking down upon him with each face harboring looks of anxiousness and concern.

"We're on the train going to Hogwarts," he replied, "We're starting our fourth year, now, Harry. Are you sure you're alright? You seemed to have hit your head rather hard."

Harry remembered how Dumbledore told him aspects of his life would be altered; yet he was not even remotely ready for this. Looking around his compartment he was in, he saw the faces of Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle.

Harry then noticed he was wearing his Hogwarts robes only now, however, the Slytherin crest was embodied upon his robes.

"I think I need to use the loo," Harry commented quietly, stepping out of the compartment.

He started breathing heavily all of a sudden, unaware of what to do. Was this some kind of a hell Harry was eternally trapped in or some sick, twisted joke being played out? Then again, when has Malfoy ever been one to play a prank like this on Harry?

Walking past each compartment window, he noticed students talking to each other and laughing, not a care in the world; yet Harry felt as if his whole world had crumbled around him yet he did not know why.

The mane of bushy hair stopped suddenly and turned around. Harry felt his heart leap for joy as his eyes fell upon Hermione's face. Why was it that Harry never realized how beautiful she was before now?

She shook her head slowly back and forth as she replied, "I'm sorry, but I don't know who you are."

Harry looked down upon her robes and saw her robes had the Ravenclaw crest upon it. "You're in Ravenclaw," Harry said.

"Yes, and you're in Slytherin," Hermione pointed out.

Before Harry could say anything else, someone bumped into him from behind. Turning around, he saw a head of fiery red hair.

"Ron!"

Ron Weasley looked up at Harry; noticing who he was, Ron's face turned sour and he spat out, "Having another go at me and my family, Potter? It wasn't enough that you tortured me all of last year?"

With that, Ron harshly shouldered his way past Harry without even a second glimpse at Hermione.

"What is going on here," Harry asked himself.

"Listen, I really should head back to my compartment and you should go back to yours," Hermione suggested.

And with that, Harry watched Hermione disappear into a nearby compartment, shutting its door shut and leaving Harry out in the deserted hallway of the Hogwarts Express.

Harry ran to the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face. 'Wake up, wake up, wake up,' he repeated over and over in his head. 'This is all some bad dream.'

However, remembering what Dumbledore had told him before, this wasn't a bad dream…it was his new reality. A reality in which he was in Slytherin House and where Ron hated the sight of him and Hermione had no idea who he even was!

Harry suddenly felt very sick; so sick that he bent over the toilet and vomited inside of it. He retched over and over again as a foul smell began to flood the bathroom.

After he was finished, Harry rinsed his mouth with cold water and splashed some more over his face.

Suddenly, a new revelation dawned upon him: even though this was his new reality, it doesn't have to mean it has to remain. Who says a Slytherin cannot be friends with a Gryffindor and Ravenclaw?

He would change the nature of the Hogwarts house formalities and nothing would stop him; nothing would stop him from being with Hermione again!

It was a long road if Harry was to be truthful and he a lot of information to find out about but it was a road Harry was willing to travel down. For in the end, Harry told himself he would again win the heart of Hermione and his friendship with Ron. His love for Hermione was too great for them to not be together. Someday and somehow, they will be together again.

Harry looked at his reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. He nodded his head in silent understand as he said to himself, "I'll start over…everything will become new. The strongest hearts are worth fighting for."

Harry then turned on the spot and marched out of the bathroom; with a new air of contentment, Harry walked back towards the Slytherin compartment with a smile on his face. He would be reunited with Ron and Hermione again…he was sure of it.

THE END

A WizardWriting Story

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.